ST. PETERSBURG - Stephanie was at her boyfriend's house the first time she took a handful of "triple C."

He told her abusing cough medicine would produce a different kind of high. He was right. Taking Coricidin HBP - known on the street as "triple C," "chocolate chip cookies" or "skittles" - "was unlike anything I felt before," said Stephanie, 17.

She felt drunk and high at the same time. Her body went numb. She picked a fight with a wall. She was so severely dehydrated she "forgot" how to urinate. The drugs ultimately sent her to the hospital with a failing liver.

"You can die from it so easily," she said.

Stephanie is now in a drug treatment program. The Times is not disclosing her full name because she is a minor.

An increasing number of teenagers are using cough medicine to get high, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

The key ingredient, dextromethorphan, or DXM, a cough suppressant, is found in many over-the-counter medicines, including Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough Medicine and Vicks NyQuil LiquiCaps.

The amount of DXM in Coricidin HBP tablets, however, has made it the drug of choice.

Reports of teenagers abusing DXM have doubled nationwide over the last three years. There also has been a sharp surge in the Tampa Bay area, with 1,264 cases reported last year to the Florida Poison Control Center in Tampa. That was an increase of 48 percent over 2002.

Last year, Pinellas County schools moved 12 students to different schools after they were caught having or using Coricidin. Pasco and Hillsborough schools had one incident each.

In Hillsborough, a teenager was arrested for driving under the influence a month ago. Dale Hyder, a drug recognition expert with the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office, figured she was high on marijuana, which she was. But the girl also was on DXM.

Hyder immediately went to a local drug store to get a closer look at the medicine.

"I found empty boxes on the shelves," he said.

Drug stores have begun to limit the sale of Coricidin. Some now keep it stored behind their pharmacy counter.

Schering-Plough Corp., the maker of Coricidin HBP, says millions of people have taken Coricidin appropriately since 1951 and notes that 125 over-the-counter products contain DXM.

A spokeswoman said the company is concerned about the misuse of its product and has joined with the Council on Family Health and the Partnership for a Drug-Free American to create online resources for parents and children.

But those efforts are countered by the growing number of Web sites dedicated to the abuse of cold medicine. Many are little more than how-to manuals. They list nonprescription drugs containing DXM, give "recipes" on how to cook the drug with food, and act as bulletin boards where users can post their experiences.

"It's scary," said Paul Doering, a pharmacy professor at the University of Florida. "It's a source of information and it's a source of misinformation."

Teens are attracted to DXM because it's cheap and accessible. But it's also very dangerous, Doering said. DXM abuse can cause heart attacks, strokes, an irregular heart beat and brain and liver damage.

"Taking 24 over-the-counter cough and cold tablets is way worse than somebody who chooses to use a single dose of LSD," he said.

Tyler Butler, a St. Petersburg police officer who works in middle and high schools, was so frustrated by the number of overdoses last year that he talked to managers at local drug stores, including a Walgreens near Lakewood High School.

"I would walk into a Walgreens and ask the manager, "Where is your Coricidin?"' Butler said. "He would say, "Oh, I just stocked it,' and the shelf would be empty."

The Walgreens near Lakewood High took the medicine off its shelves and placed it in the pharmacy. Employees temporarily put it back on the shelves for cold and flu season but plan to remove it again when the season ends, said Carol Hively, a corporate spokeswoman for Walgreens.

The company tracks the medicine carefully, she said, and a company-wide policy prohibits the sale of more than three packages at a time.

Butler acknowledges that drug stores are in a tough position. And nothing they do can stop teenagers from raiding the family medicine cabinet. The practice is called "farming," and the yield is used for impromptu drug parties.

Doering said parents should treat cold medicine the same way they do poison. They should tell their children "that something pharmaceutical in nature doesn't mean it's safe," he said.

They also should watch their children for behavioral changes. Parents should be wary of teens who exhibit bizarre actions, who sleep all the time, become withdrawn or experience a sudden decrease in school performance.

Stephanie, who abused Coricidin, said something may be amiss if a teen develops a wide-eyed stare, stumbles when he walks or has unexplained dry heaves.

"It will grab a hold of you like a tornado and suck your life away," she said. "It's bad news."

in the farming thing, i just wanna know, who the fuck gives away pills and shit at parties?! i mean you dont get that shit for free. the Times is full of shit

DXmethorphan420

04-07-2004, 02:40 AM

Ive been comin here to DV for along time now and almost every other day there is a new article, on someone going to the hospital, getting sick, nearly dieing, or dieing, due to CCC abuse. When will these people smarten up!? :magnus_grey:

LISTEN UP KIDDIES CORICIDIN WILL MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE THIS :nitin:

:sly:

BONERSTORM

04-07-2004, 07:23 AM

about it being "Scary" "a source of misinformation"

the guy is right. not all websites are like the dv. its a mixed bag, it just so happens we're the ones doing the right thing. i can think of 3 other really popular websites right now that are either completely dangerous or not even moderated and discuss dxm heavily. theres more.

-rudine-

BONERSTORM

04-07-2004, 07:25 AM

i also see no mention of chlorpheniramine maleate in this article despite the liberal smattering of coricidin name-drops. yup, a source of misinformation as well as information. scary indeed.

who can you trust?

-rudine-

The420thPlateau

04-07-2004, 08:56 AM

i have 60 dollars right now. i would give all of it just for 5 minutes with the author of this article. How the fuck can you lie so much for money??? lets go over this artcile sentence by sentence.

ST. PETERSBURG - Stephanie was at her boyfriend's house the first time she took a handful of "triple C."

He told her abusing cough medicine would produce a different kind of high. He was right. Taking Coricidin HBP - known on the street as "triple C," "chocolate chip cookies" or "skittles" - "was unlike anything I felt before," said Stephanie, 17.

Triple Cs are one of the worse forms of DXM, common knowledge on these boards, which specialize in harm reduction, ur lucky you dont call out the dv for spreading misinformation, you fucking pricks. you know what your doing? your not saving one fucking life. In fact your killing people. How blind can you be? LSD use dramticly increased after the propaganda, same with marijuana. obviouisly kids are intriged by new drugs , and can be rebelous, this is very stupid and ii would never do drugs to rebel but many k ids do. you later proove my point but ill quote that furthur down.

She felt drunk and high at the same time. Her body went numb. She picked a fight with a wall. She was so severely dehydrated she "forgot" how to urinate. The drugs ultimately sent her to the hospital with a failing liver.

im pretty fucking sure her failing liver is due to the anthistamine CPM that you failed to include in your analysis. Stupid is as stupid does. her inability to piss was due to cpm's acetylcholine blocking effect. once again, you are a liar.

"You can die from it so easily," she said.

Yes stephany i hope you learned your lesson. lets go over what you should now know, but should of already knew because it is common sense. if you cant retain common sense, you cant survive.

#1 Read the active ingredients, because your putting each one of those in your body.
#2 Research each and every active ingredient and find out what it does. So you know before hand what you are getting yourself into.
#3 Dont liston to horny guys who will give you any drug to muffle you inabitions

You see mr news reporter, there are 3 classes of dxm users/abusers the class most of us fit into, which is the nerdy ones who have effectivly incorporated a contrversial chemical in our lives in some form , and regard it as being valuable. There is a younger class of morons who prefer triple Cs to tussin, not even getting to the levels that we get to without dying. They almost never research it before trying it, they take drugs to be cool, not to learn about themselves. And there is a 3rd class of DXM enthusiasts who just prefer it to weed for get ting fucked up. Not too wise, and ive done it myself, but they are in a good position, since they arent taking lethal doses. When y ou use dxm like this the more you use the mo re the positive effects decrease and the negative effects increase, and they will (usually) stop when the negs outweigh the pros, like i did. you see mr reporter, your causing more an more ppl like stephany to go out and try dxm. ican only hope some come to these internet sites you mention.

An increasing number of teenagers are using cough medicine to get high, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

I attribute this to ill informed news reports by retarted reporters who make a living out of such lies.

The key ingredient, dextromethorphan, or DXM, a cough suppressant, is found in many over-the-counter medicines, including Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough Medicine and Vicks NyQuil LiquiCaps.

The amount of DXM in Coricidin HBP tablets, however, has made it the drug of choice.

Jesus Christ you piss me off. Only thing you got right here was dxm is the key ingredient. haha. wtf who takes alka seltzer for dxm? or ny quiL? these are even more dangerous that coicidan!! so ridiculous its s t upid! your lies are an obvious childish attempt to make us look like idiots, which gets published because thats what they want to hear. i hate this shit , i swear to god if i had money, i would spend it on fighting you people.

And there is no way you can blame internet sites like the dv or which ever for CCCS being the drug of choice, we try so hard to get through to these morons, but theyre too cool to listen to us, as well as you. The DV has a scrict CCC rule and you would be kicked out and put in your place quickly i f you came to these forums.

Reports of teenagers abusing DXM have doubled nationwide over the last three years. There also has been a sharp surge in the Tampa Bay area, with 1,264 cases reported last year to the Florida Poison Control Center in Tampa. That was an increase of 48 percent over 2002.

I really think this is due to media reports such as this. Maybe you should do a study. See if CCC sales go up next time nbc runs out of other things to talk about and wants to promote them again. If you scroll down a little bit on the main news page, youl see a drug enforcement guy saying the govt is becoming irritated at 20/20 and other stories since sales always increase after the news stories. i can tell you right now, if i were an idiot 13-15 year old and i saw this article id be holy shit, there is an easy high in the wal mart! you think that because you cover the risks no one will try it , wrong people smoke crack even tho there are risks, young people dont even believe your telling them the truth. Media and govt ruined it's repuation with our generation with their marijuana , lsd, and exstasy lies. Furthurmore, you havent even mentioned the safest one to take, which is robitussin maximum strenghth cough! Now each one of these children who comes across this article will go out and buy nyquil becaue they think since you lied about weed, ur lying about this too.

Last year, Pinellas County schools moved 12 students to different schools after they were caught having or using Coricidin. Pasco and Hillsborough schools had one incident each.

I fail to see how this will solve a fucking thing.

im not even quoting your sentence on the driving girl on dxm. its stupid to drive while intoxicated on anything or even tired.
"I found empty boxes on the shelves," he said.
Hope this makes you realize that you cant do a fucking thing to solve your problem. Well maybe you could, my suggestion would be legalizing marijuana and banning corcidan from everyone. And putting an 18 up rule on other dxm containing products. The first class i mentioned above, would continue to safely use dxm, and not go into emergency rooms, because were not the ones dying, and the 2nd and 3rd class obviously just cant find drugs, or dont want to deal with the criminals you have to deal with to obtain illegal drugs. So they would be able to have legal safe weed. Wow 19 years old and come up with a better solution than you ever will.

Drug stores have begun to limit the sale of Coricidin. Some now keep it stored behind their pharmacy counter.

Schering-Plough Corp., the maker of Coricidin HBP, says millions of people have taken Coricidin appropriately since 1951 and notes that 125 over-the-counter products contain DXM.

Like i say, ban the shit, it will get you off our back and save a lot of lives. I dont care i use far more effiecent dxm powder in capsules, one of these babies is equal to 10 CCCs minus all the cpm. (when i do use which is limited to once a few weeks)

But those efforts are countered by the growing number of Web sites dedicated to the abuse of cold medicine. Many are little more than how-to manuals. They list nonprescription drugs containing DXM, give "recipes" on how to cook the drug with food, and act as bulletin boards where users can post their experiences.

Dedicated to the *use* of DXM, find me one site dedicated to idiots taking triple Cs to get fucked up. And wtf do you mean "recipes" on how to cook the drug with food. Your just as innocent as you are stupid. These "recipes" as you so sarcasticly say are to extract the DXM from the cough syrup, not lmao make food, god that would be nasty and ineffective. And the last comment by u in the quote was aimed at the dv i guess. no lies here, we do post our experiences, ur lucky u didnt lie about the harm recuction based dv.

"It's scary," said Paul Doering, a pharmacy professor at the University of Florida. "It's a source of information and it's a source of misinformation."

ok. there is two sides to this issue. When someone, lets say 16 years old gets online, and types DXM, they either get pro dxm sites, or negative dxm sites, negative dxm sites lie like crazy, like your report. Use all kinds of tactics and bullshit to try to ward off users. Pro dxm sites, on the other hand explain what the drug will do to you, truthfully, including the positive fun things, and the terrible effects that will come from abuse. The 16 can EASILY TELL you arent telluing the truth and we are. I sure could. Also, ive used it like 70 times. I think after so many times of using it maybe i know a little miore than you, who are full of assumptions, cus u know what your boss wants to hear???

Teens are attracted to DXM because it's cheap and accessible. But it's also very dangerous, Doering said. DXM abuse can cause heart attacks, strokes, an irregular heart beat and brain and liver damage.

Yes this is true. There is a risk of all these with DXM use. But taking DXM doesnt mean these things will happen to you, i almost had a heart attack on dxm a few times, on binges and insane doses every time, and i have high blood pressure, none of my peers on the dv have ever had problems like this im a minority as far as health problems go. I would say the most dangerous effect is liver damage, which can be reduced by obtaining powder. Some people find that the enlightenment they achieve through this experience is worth these risks, others are just desparate to get high, another reason weed should be legal. (hey uncle sam, see how ur taking lives by making that HARMLESS plant agiainst the law?)

"Taking 24 over-the-counter cough and cold tablets is way worse than somebody who chooses to use a single dose of LSD," he said

Who said that? The doctor? wow that is pretty fucking true. taking 24 cough and COLD tablets is way worse than 34 cough tablets as well. But yes ur right, alas lsd is not legal and pretty damn hard to come by. Whenever it is around im too afraid to get it cus i know its so easy to get ripped off. People who use marijuana and lsd arnt criminals, were very smart people. We dont even like having to associate with criminals which most drug dealers are because they are the only onees with enough balls to stand up to the govt. i can garentee u if i had acid i wouldnt do dxm as often lsd is more fun. but dxm still has advantages over it. being able to control hallucinations better, and meditation leading to oobes. So that was kind of a shitty comparison. yet still makes the most sense out of any statement in your article.

Tyler Butler, a St. Petersburg police officer who works in middle and high schools, was so frustrated by the number of overdoses last year that he talked to managers at local drug stores, including a Walgreens near Lakewood High School.

i hope ur frusterated, pigboy. i wish i was there at the time, cus id be sure to pick up as many 4 ozes as i could afford in front of you.

Butler acknowledges that drug stores are in a tough position. And nothing they do can stop teenagers from raiding the family medicine cabinet. The practice is called "farming," and the yield is used for impromptu drug parties.

You got to be one DESPARATE druggy to "pharm" ur mothers cabinet without research. And drug parties? you mean its gettting so popular that coro-tards trip together now? thats so sad its funny. id be the guy who sacrifices his "cool" reputation to try to save their lives, if i got made fun of for drinking the cough syrup, i would precede t o get very agressive and knock a few out. because i hate coro tards with a passion.

Stephanie, who abused Coricidin, said something may be amiss if a teen develops a wide-eyed stare, stumbles when he walks or has unexplained dry heaves.

"It will grab a hold of you like a tornado and suck your life away," she said. "It's bad news."

oh yes listen to stephany , the newest idiot to OD on CPM. dont u realize this is like a 12 year old who has no idea what shes talking about?
ok listen to her, it will suck your life awyay like a tornado if you let it, but if you let it, it will take you to nirvana, increase your debative skills, get you interested in many other activities, such as neurology, pharmacology, biology, anthropologoy, psychology, phiolosophy, theology, hell anything intelectual. There are a lot of stupid dxm users, but there a lot of straight genious users. 12ancid, nitin, walkaway, rudine, vaesolis , lucid, to name just a very few, there are many more.

In conclusion, you have met the brut of my anger on this issue, it has been bubbling up for quite some time now and you provided the slanderous peace of shit journalism i needed to release it. I hope i have made you think twice about the DXM subculture, and it's users. Im not saying DXM is a great thing, but its definatly not what you just said. If you want to get through to kids you need to be as honest as you can, and this post, i assure you was me trying my best to get the real facts. Thank you , and good day.

vapor

04-07-2004, 12:42 PM

Well, I must say I am getting a bit tired replying to these. Now dont get me wrong, im not complaining or whining, its just the fact that even though im tired of seeing these things happen, I cant turn and look the other way. I have to say something.

So, Ill skip the usual bits of misinformation this article is littered with, and just make a couple points.

1. Does the article mention here exact dose? Perhaps, she just mentally reacted badly to the effects of the dextromethorphan + CPM combo. I mean she was taking them to get "fucked up". Well, you shure got your wish didnt you.

2. I already know of the many stupid name for coricidin, includeing "skittles" "candy" "red devils" and what not. But what the fuck is "chocolacte chip cookies"? I mean seriously, someone at the press just made that one up.

druggedupdork

04-09-2004, 09:42 PM

why dont they just stop adding CPM to coricidin? Instead of manipulating with fear why not just correct the problem? Ill tell you why, because they were too busy misrepresenting the true dangers of the world, in a failing effort to save this country :eh:

BONERSTORM

04-10-2004, 03:02 AM

Originally posted by [email protected] 9 2004, 08:42 PM
why dont they just stop adding CPM to coricidin? Instead of manipulating with fear why not just correct the problem? Ill tell you why, because they were too busy misrepresenting the true dangers of the world, in a failing effort to save this country :eh:
because coricidin isnt made for tripping, it's made for relieving cold and cough symptoms.